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June 13, 2009 |

For the last few years I have been one of the drinkers of the “orange kool-aid” believing that the Orioles could turn it around, however, after a 7-2 loss to the Braves that drops the Birds to a season high 11 games under .500, I am now asking the question every Baltimore sports fan seems to ask come June: Is it football season yet?

Despite having two professional sports franchises Baltimore really is only a one sport and one team town. The Orioles ineptitude has turned a once prideful and passionate baseball town into a town where the team is nothing more then an afterthought that can’t draw sell outs when they sell tickets for 1$.

I have been optimistic from the start of the season and believed that the 2009 Baltimore Orioles would be at least interesting and worth watching come the summer months, but now I have all but given up.

The buzz around Matt Wieters has died down, David Hernandez has been sent down and nobody outside of Luke Scott(who very well could be traded at the deadline) and Nolan Reimold can seem to hit a home run.

After months of providing hope and optimism, the 2009 Orioles are now looking like the 65 win team many experts projected them to be.

I am not saying that I expected this team to win 100 games and make it to the World Series but all I wanted was some reason to go to the yard and watch the games come the summer months of June, July and August.

Earlier this month I wrote a blog stating that this month would be key in making the Orioles relevant again and even went as far as saying that these aren’t the same old Orioles. A winning June would have provided excitement around the team and brought many people back to the Yard, however, a 2-9 start to the month once again has Baltimore fans anticipating the start of the Ravens season.

The scene at Oriole Park on the night of Matt Wieters’ debut was something that I have not seen in 11 years and made many think that maybe this franchise had turned the corner. With Wieters now in his second full week on the club, the Orioles are struggling to get 20,000 people to come to the game, showing that not even “the savior of the franchise” can make the Orioles relevant in 2009.

It pains me to write this blog and see the state that my beloved Orioles are currently in, especially after the hope they provided this city just a two weeks ago. The Orioles being relevant in Baltimore provides a jolt to the city like no other, but sadly for the 12th straight year the only “jolt” that the Orioles are providing are to the opposing teams bats.

I still will watch this team and root for them but the days of me sitting on the edge of my seat and living and dying with every pitch for this season are over.

The weather is warm, school is out, the Orioles are out of contention, and Baltimore fans are more worried about the arm of Joe Flacco then the “arms” of the Orioles starting pitchers.

So much like every Baltimore Sports fan this summer I will have one date on my mind, September 13th, the start of the Ravens regular season.